Writers Guild Workshops Help Vets Tell Their Stories

by James Parks, Nov 7, 2009

The WGAE Foundation held the second Veterans Writing Workshop recently in San Antonio.

Returning veterans often have a hard time adjusting to civilian life and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) Foundation is helping them find an outlet to tell their stories. Since April 2008, the foundation has held weekend-long writing workshops in which professional writers mentor veterans and active duty military personnel, encouraging them to express themselves in writing.

John Markus, first vice president of the foundation, says the workshops have caught on in the communities where they have been held. They are open to any member of the armed forces who has served in recent conflicts and who has a desire to write. Workshops  have been held in Columbus, Ohio, and San Antonio, with more planned.

Markus says the WGAE members, many of whom are major award winners (Markus has won an Emmy) don’t try to tell the vets what to write. Instead they help vets navigate through writing process. Not all of the stories are about war or military life, but vets are encouraged to write about whatever is on their minds. Says Markus:    

We specifically did not want to influence content. We reassured vets that they would own their material. If they wanted to try and get it published or find an agent or get studios to read their scripts, we could facilitate that.

The free workshops cover a weekend with small groups of writers and vets reading and critiquing each other’s works and sharing experiences. The writers get as much, if not more, out of the sessions as the vets, Markus says:  

We leave the workshops feeling that we get more than we give. There is a deep inspiration that comes from helping someone discover their gift. We all feel they have given so much to this country that this is a small favor in return for their service.

For the vets, Markus says, there’s clearly a feeling of catharsis in exploring what they’ve been through.  

[The vets] work out situations that they’ve struggled with and explore challenges of service whether it’s being with their fellow soldiers or being under fire or being lost in convoys.

For the WGAE, it allows us to do what we do best-encourage writers and tell them what their options if they want to write for film, TV and journalism. We’re there for them. As they look to their future as writers fulltime, we can be a safety net.

Because of the growing popularity of the workshops, the WGAE Foundation is exploring the possibility of expanding the workshops to families of veterans and other groups, such as laid off auto workers in Detroit. As Markus says:

We’re definitely doing more.

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